


A Technical Idiot

by GreenestApple



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Rush (2013)
Genre: 1975 Season, Eating Disorders, Good Guy James, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Smoking, Stress, Stubborn Niki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8330911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenestApple/pseuds/GreenestApple
Summary: Niki is being weird and James wants to find out why.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a small, silly thing that i thought of one day, i didn't really write it with too much thought so take it with a grain of salt haha. The basic idea is that Niki's so desperate to become world champion in 1975 that he'll do anything, even things that are just plain stupid and sure as hell not going to help him in the long run. This has been sitting on my laptop for a while because i wasn't sure whether i wanted to even publish it, but here you go i guess :P

In Spain, Niki had been far more irritable than he typically was, snapping back at whatever pestering remarks James made with animosity that was unfamiliar to their usual bantering and which ultimately made James turn on his heel to head back to his own garage, deeming the other to be in an irredeemably foul mood.

Then as Monaco came around, James had been more than ready to get back to Niki, who by then had surely had enough time to remove the stick from up his arse. Yet as it turned out, James couldn’t find the slippery bastard anywhere. He could only get a brief glimpse of that curly head of hair through the cheering masses as Niki took his place at the top of the podium and all James had wanted to do at that moment was wave his fist at him. 

Partly to show his dissatisfaction at being ignored, but mostly just so that the other driver might’ve noticed him and maybe winked and waved back. The latter thought had left him feeling uneasy for the rest of the day, but as night descended he gladly found enough cold drink and warm women to drown his troubles in.

When the formula one circus finally arrived in Belgium, James found himself elated to a ridiculous degree as he spotted Niki seated against a wall nearby the Ferrari garage. This by itself was slightly odd, since Niki was usually always on his feet before a race, making preparations and going over strategies, but James let it slide, thinking that maybe for once the man was cutting himself some slack. Then as he got closer, it struck him that what hung from the other driver’s rather limp grip was not one, but two cigarettes, both smoked in apparent haste as they were mostly just ash.

“What’ve you got there, rat?” James piped up cheerfully, placing himself to sit beside Niki, who only very slowly turned his head to observe the intruder to his personal space. Immediately James could see the dark circles under his eyes, the sickly pale complexion of his skin and the way his hand shook as he brought the twin cigarettes to his lips and breathed in deeply.

“Am smoking,” Niki mumbled, fixing his gaze back to the horizon and James couldn’t help but smile dubiously at the sight in front of him. It shouldn’t have been funny, of course not, Niki was obviously sick, but just seeing the normally so well composed driver in such a state brought James some sort of twisted delight.

“One just wasn’t enough, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll ease your burden,” he chuckled, easily snatching the other cig from Niki’s unsuspecting grasp and giving it a proper tap before taking a drag himself.

“Mustn’t be so greedy, love,” he mused, very openly staring at the side of Niki’s face with a quizzical expression, “you’ve got the flu, haven’t you?”

“I’m fine,” Niki replied, continuing to smoke what was left of the comically shaped cigarette.

“You’re obviously not, does your team know?”

“There’s nothing to know,” Niki said, ash scattering into his lap from the untapped cig. He regarded the mess indifferently, tossing the rest of the smoke away as he reached into his pocket for the carton, drawing two brand new cigarettes between his fingers.

“Don’t you think you should slow down a bit, maybe breathe in some air for a change?” James offered, looking on with increasing worry as Niki struggled to light his smokes up. 

Then, after a minute or so of James trying to pry answers from Niki, who didn’t even spare him a glance much less give any clue into why he was acting the way he was, James got to his feet, determined to solve the mystery. He very quickly spotted Clay on the other side of the garage, tending to his car, and without further thought he marched his way over to him.

”Is he on drugs?” James said, announcing his presence to Clay, who turned to regard him with a skeptical look, before returning to his race preparations. They weren’t exactly buddies, but after spending so much time in the close proximity of the Ferrari garage, James had occasionally exchanged some words with the older driver.

”Who?” Clay replied, seeming very uninterested in James’ line of questioning.

“Niki.” 

At this Clay’s eyebrows shot closer to his hairline and he turned to properly look at James, an amused expression taking hold of his face.

“Not that I know of,” he said, eyeing James as if trying to judge his intentions.

“Then what’s wrong with him?”

“How should I know, I’m not his mother,” Clay said with a chuckle, “why don’t you just ask him?”

“He’s not in a very talkative mood,” James admitted, starting to feel a little stupid for having brought the issue up with Clay, whose relationship with Niki wasn’t exactly rosy.

“That’s unheard of,” Clay said with a crooked smile, a knowing glint in his eyes which James decided to ignore.

“Yeah, it’s weird.”

“Look, I don’t want to get involved in his business,” Clay said, gesturing shortly with his hand as he fell back to a more serious note, “but if you just gave him a snack I think he might get a bit chattier.”

“And why’s that?”

“Well, he has been starving himself for the better part of a month now, I’ve hardly seen him eat anything,” he said in almost offhanded way, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

“What? Why?” James exclaimed, completely dumbfounded.

“To make the car lighter of course,” Clay explained, unbothered by James’ reaction, “listen, you didn’t hear it from me, but they made changes to his ride and then told him to lose some weight to compensate for it,” Clay continued, sighing heavily and for the first time appearing even the smallest bit worried for his teammate, “he’s really taking it seriously.”

“But that’s dangerous, he can’t drive like that!” James said in a hush, spreading his arms in a bewildered manner.

“Apparently he can and he has, are you forgetting that he won in Monaco?”

“But just look at him, he’s a fucking zombie! And who smokes two cigarettes at the same time? Why would they even ask him to lose weight, he’s so tiny already,” James rambled, unable to understand why anyone would think Niki needed to be even smaller.

“No one’s forcing him so what do you want me to do about it?” Clay replied, a defensive edge to his voice as he turned his back to James and busied himself with something on the table in front of him.

“You’re not worried? No one at Ferrari is worried that their driver might just faint at the wheel?” James said, realizing that he sounded a bit more accusatory than he needed to, considering that Clay had nothing to do with what went on between the team and Niki, but he couldn’t help his agitation with the situation.

“Got my own problems to worry about, maybe you should take it up with il Commendatore.” 

Clay’s voice was stern and his posture unwavering. James surmised that this was the end of any productive conversation he was to have with the older driver, so he exited the garage, glaring at the few Ferrari mechanics staring his way, before placing his hands on his hips in exasperation.

“Damnit, Niki,” he cursed, looking off to his side where Niki was still seated and had almost gotten through the fresh set of cigarettes already.

James felt lost for a moment. He shouldn’t be worrying about Niki so much, if the stubborn idiot wanted to starve himself then so be it, who was he to get in the way. He should be getting ready for his own race and not trying to aid his rival, was he insane? Yet, as he gazed at Niki’s hunched form, he felt a tugging in his heart and he knew that if something happened to Niki during the race, he wouldn’t forgive himself.

“Alright Niki, let’s go,” James heard himself saying before he fully realized what he was doing, having walked to Niki’s side and offered his hand in an effort to get the man to his feet.

“What are you doing?” Niki questioned him meekly and instantly James became resolute in his decision to try to help, because Niki just sounded so wrong, he wasn’t supposed to sound like that and if he was too far gone to realize it himself, James would have to be the voice of reason. For once.

“Just trust me, okay,” James said, hand still extended in an offer and Niki looked at him, fatigue written all over his face, eyebrows pulled together, but he gave a tiny nod, discarding his prized cigarettes to let James pull him up.

Niki stumbled into James, all strength seeming to leave him as soon as his weight was on his feet and James had to take a bracing step backwards, holding Niki close to stop him from falling.

“Shit,” James whispered, struggling to keep them both standing, “you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Niki slurred, pushing himself out of James’ embrace and breathing heavily as he ran both of his hands slowly through his messy hair, fighting to stay conscious.

“It’s not like you’re the first person to ever faint in my arms, but give me a heads up next time,” James tried joking, but his words fell on deaf ears. He was now absolutely sure that Niki could not race in his current state without killing either himself or others, perhaps a few weeks ago he still could, but his ridiculous diet had gone on for too long by now for him to remain functional and so James took the other man by his elbow and set the course for the cafeteria.

“Where are we going? We need to be on the track soon,” Niki whined, the hunger seeming to have robbed him of much of his powers of observation and articulation. Standing there beside James was a mere shell of Niki’s usual clever self and James started to feel genuinely concerned that there might not be much that he could do to help Niki before the race. 

“I just want to show you something, ratty,” James said to his wobbling counterpart, who even through the haze of his malnutrition seemed to have a sense that something was amiss, “don’t worry, there’s plenty of time.”

They moved slowly but surely through the hallways of the track building, gaining a number of curious glances as they passed by personnel and drivers milling about before the main event. Niki didn’t voice any more objections, but James figured that it wasn’t as much for a lack of curiosity that he was quiet, as it was for him simply not having the energy to open his mouth. As they came closer to their destination, the strong and undeniable scent of food invaded their senses and Niki stopped abruptly in his tracks.

“What is this?” He demanded, voice carrying a clear warning as he glared at James, who had turned to face him, hand still holding onto his elbow.

“Come on, you have to eat, don’t be ridiculous,” James tried to say in an appeasing way, not wanting to start a fight.

“I’m not hungry, you should mind your own business,” Niki replied, about to turn around and walk away, but in his weakened state he couldn’t shake James’ hold on him.

“I know, okay, I know that you haven’t been eating well, so just stop,” James all but whispered, as if trying to soothe a spooked animal.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, you can barely stand, just please eat something or at least drink some juice, I don’t know,” James pleaded, but by the unwavering look in Niki’s eyes James knew he remained unconvinced, “but you can’t race like that, I won’t let you,” he said and noticed the immediate shift in Niki’s poise, recoiling as if with a sudden punch, his eyes narrowing and mouth pulling downwards.

“You’re trying to get me disqualified?” Niki said, almost shaking with the added strain of both anger and exhaustion.

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“You don’t understand, I have to win,” Niki’s fingers curled around the arm James had holding his with surprising strength, “I have to,” he stated and underneath the fire that was burning in his eyes James could see a flicker of uncertainty, of pure, wild desperation and it was the first time he genuinely realized that Niki was only human too.

“Oh, and you think that right now you’re in the best possible shape to do so?” James challenged.

“Yes, the car will be faster,” Niki said, sounding like he was trying to convince not only James, but himself as well.

“You know, for some kind of technical genius, you’re pretty fucking stupid,” James spat, starting to get frustrated with Niki’s pigheadedness.

“Then let me be stupid, what do you care,” Niki said wearily, looking like he might just pass out from the exertion of their argument, hand easing it vice grip on James’ arm and drifting back to his side.

“I must be a bloody idiot too, but I care,” James said, detaching his hold on Niki as well, “look, I don’t want you to crash,” he said in a much more appeasing tone, hand still hovering close to Niki’s side if he were indeed to faint.

“I’m not going to crash,” Niki said to him, no apparent emotion in his voice, only a small twitch at the corner of his mouth.

“Fuck you, you’re nearly about to crash on this goddamn floor right now,” James said, waving his hand in exasperation, “cut the bullshit, Niki, you know I’m right,” he said, realizing that for once, he was actually right instead of Niki. Yet, any glee he might’ve felt over the realization was drowned out by the seriousness of the situation and the harsh look Niki was directing his way.

“Please, for me,” James said, cursing himself instantly for his poor choice of persuasion tactic, but to his amazement those words seemed to have an overt impact on Niki, whose eyes darted away before rising back to meet his with something akin to cautious affection. James swallowed, unfamiliar with the direction he had unwittingly steered them in.

“I-,” Niki stammered, a slight flush covering his pale cheeks, “alright, yes.”

James just stared at him for an instant, taken aback by the sudden turn of events, mind racing with the implications. A flicker of uncertainty made its way to Niki’s face and James sprung back into action, flinging his arm over Niki’s shoulders.

“Excellent, I knew you’d come around darling!” He exclaimed, directing them through the doorway and into the mess hall. Yet as they got closer to the displays of food, James couldn’t help but notice how increasingly nauseous Niki appeared.

“Alright then, quick question, when did you last eat?” James turned to Niki, figuring that he would have to know a bit more about the actual state of Niki’s health lest his attempt at helping would only serve to make things worse.

“Yesterday, some bread and an apple.”

“And that’s been your diet?” He blurted and Niki gave him a very grim look.

“It varies,” Niki said, the words coming as easily as teeth being pulled.

“Okay, please tell me you’ve at least been drinking water?”

“Of course, I’m not a complete idiot,” Niki replied weakly, “this is just ridiculous, you advising me on how to be healthy,” he laughed dryly, voice closer to a whisper as he fumbled for James’ shoulder to take support in.

“Maybe you should sit down,” James offered, assisting Niki to one of the nearby chairs, “and yes, you are a complete idiot,” he said with no amount of malice, leaving the other driver to brace his head in his hands, heaving from the exertion of merely being upright.

The cafeteria wasn’t exactly a horn of plenty and James soon found himself struggling to decide between offering Niki a shabby looking sandwich or cold French fries. He had to admit that he hadn’t really thought his plan through, as per usual, and now he feared that he’d accidentally robbed Niki of what little energy he’d possessed in the first place. He could only hope for the best as he bought the fantastically overpriced sandwich and some juice, making his way back to the table.

“I hope you still remember how to eat because I am not feeding you,” James said, sitting across from Niki who eyed the food James had produced with nothing short of disgust.

“I don’t think I can eat this,” Niki said, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Just humor me, okay? You shouldn’t eat too much anyway because you might throw up, so just a little bite?” James tried to urge him, feeling thoroughly ridiculous, but at the same time he was determined to get some fuel into Niki’s system.

Niki regarded him with a wry look before turning back to his meal and James knew that had he had the willpower, he would’ve made a biting remark about James’ mothering instincts right about then. Instead Niki lifted the sandwich to his lips, taking the tiniest bite possible and chewing on it in an overtly obvious manner, as if unwilling to actually swallow. 

“You do know that you look just like a rat, nibbling on your food like that,” James said, chuckling as Niki glared at him over his sandwich. After another hesitant bite, Niki discarded the bread, downing a half of his juice with a distressed expression before smacking the glass back on the table a tad too hard.

“I hate you,” Niki drawled, rubbing his face with his hand.

“Well that’s a shoddy way to say thank you,” James replied, leaning on his elbows and beaming at Niki across the table, “do you at least feel a little better?”

“I just want a cigarette,” Niki said, eyes darting evasively as if he’d only suddenly realized what an embarrassing situation he’d ended up in.

“Could go for one myself, need any help?” James stood up, offering his hand to Niki who swatted it away in annoyance.

“Fuck you, am not an old man.”

“Maybe not, but you’re on your way to an early grave if you keep going like this,” James replied, only half joking and Niki huffed slightly, getting to his feet with some effort.

“In this profession, aren’t we all?”

“Could be, but you don’t have to speed up the process,” James smiled back at him as they leisurely made their way outside.

“If you really think that, then maybe you should also stop drinking before races,” Niki taunted and James smiled wider, glad that his intervention had at least given Niki back his sharp tongue.

“No, but that’s where you’re wrong, you see, booze and women only make me a better driver, they make me appreciate being alive, so naturally I’ll want to avoid crashing and dying in the near future,” James explained and Niki shook his head, biting his lower lip slightly to stop himself from smiling at the amount of bullshit James could come up with on the spot.

“Whatever you say, my dear.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't smoke myself so i'm sorry if my depiction of smoking is a bit off haha. I also have to note that i wasn't really trying to portray that Niki had an actual eating disorder, but just that he was being a stubborn idiot, i tagged eating disorders just to be safe in case someone doesn't want to read anything even alluding to that


End file.
